RP: YSS Kaiyō Pre-Mission Three: Briefing

Mat recoiled at the accusation regarding his willingness to follow orders. Would he really do such a thing?
He thought that he might prefer a court marshal to that kind of burden on his conscience.

His thoughts brought him to silence for a few moments before saying to everyone around him, "What would give them that kind of idea? Thats horrible! You guys wouldn't follow those kinds of orders, would you?"

Meissa looked at Mat. She addressed him with an uncharacteristically dry tone of voice.
"Well. They wouldn't be wrong. Given the right intel, or the right order, or told the right things, we'd have a screaming desire to blow these guys to stardust. But, command being pretty nice people, we didn't get that. Thankfully."
Because if they did she'd probably do it. Hell, it's not the first time Yamatai pulled something scummy.

Garbage Lock

Yoshida shrugged silently at carter's response, choosing instead to observe, and reflect. Given the state of the station as a whole, its almost unbearable filth, and with children actually living in it, there was probably no way they were actively assisting the kuve, after all why would they put their children in danger, and wouldn't they have cleaner... facilities if they had military assistance themselves?

As she thought, hardly listening to most if what was being said, picking up snippets of conversation here and there. She barely heard mat's question and just shrugged at it, as she watched the hallway, with some unidentified waste product being tracked into it. ""That must be bad for their health right? Who knows what this is." It was at that moment she noticed anastasia's clear disgust, and giggled, leaning over to give her a pat on the shoulder "Don't worry I'm sure the medic will make sure you are nice and clean when we get back!"

"She's smart, stick wit' her an' ye'll go far." Galo said, leaning the cane against her hip to tap at... Something invisible in the air. Like an unseen keyboard. Lights on the deck starting to flare into life. Many of them old, or flickering. Many of them projecting splotches onto walls and ceilings due to grime being built up in the fittings.

"Keep in mind yer command also once ordered a buncha fecks like ye t' bomb o'r cities." Galo explained, "Millions dead, entire families turned t' black glass 'cause t'ey worked in factories tha' coulda supported us gettin' an army... Y'know why we're out here? We're out 'ere because after ye lot forced us t' flee known space, a lotta ships headed hubward, t'wards t' galactic core. T'wards what we now know's Kuvex. An' we jus' feckin' know t'at if ye lot find even one o' t'em workin' wi' Kuvexians ye'll come back t' finish us all off."

By the sounds of things... Indeed, the looks of things, these people had been out this far for a while. A place didn't get this messy overnight. This outpost probably knew the area quite well, even... Problem was they wanted the boarding party gone.

"Follow t' lights. It'll take ye t' where yer welcome t' spend money. Anywhere else, ye'll have t' talk wi' t' one who lives t'ere."

Silent Palace, Garbage Chute

Perhaps it said something about Navian's background that she was only mildly unsettled by the scene inside. A bit flushed, sure... but it's not like she had to breathe it in, this time around. "If it's alright with you, I might just try to keep my feet off everything. I wouldn't want to dirty up your garbage chute." Tragically, this was something Elysian plebeians had been known to say unironically to patricians before.

She humbly went on, "These armours are the only means we have to visit without docking a warship here, so please pardon our difficult compromise." After a moment to visually examine the condition that Galo was in, she asked, "Has there been trouble here already?" She did her best to pointedly ignore Mat and his rebuff, floating inside with her wings folded as much as possible.

"Thank you for your hospitality, I could go for some sorbet. I've heard it can be a potent cure for tetchiness. Will you be joining us?" She started to follow the lights.

The Silent Palace

The infantry Neko named Peio was hesitant and looked around at her comrades, asking, "Are we sure about this?"

Leeta chimed in, "It'll be fun!"

The other infantry Neko, Madoka, affirmed this by saying, "Are you afraid to have fun, hun? Let's go, this won't be too bad. Taii Teien Eden, permission to spend money and enjoy ourselves?"

YSS Kaiyō
Bridge

Hesitant but full of conviction simultaneously, Teien Eden replied, "Do what you need to do to be sure this is no enemy outpost, but one that complies with the Star Army of Yamatai's will. Be on your guard."

To Galo she asked, "Would you mind sending a shuttle to pick up a few left behind that would like some..." She had to think on it a moment, then decided to state what had been offered, "Ice cream?"

"Official policy o' t' Protectorate is that if ye cannae git rid o' Yammies on ye doorstep, then when ye speaks to 'em we should have t' speaker be visibly wounded." Galo explained, adjusting their broken arm in the sling. "So when we heard ye friend say he were comin' tae investigate I got one'a t' largegears t' snap me arm. T'is way if ye resorts t' violence ye look like a right feck fer shootin' an unarmed, wounded woman wit' a bum leg. Ye also looks like ye cannae be trustet widda gun by yer own commander if yer so intimidatet by a one-armed cripple."

Galo gave a sniff, and a little wince. Taking the limping journey along the lit path towards the markets, drawing a little thumb drive from somewhere about the pouches in her work belt and slotting it into an electronics port behind her ear. Speaking aloud to the Kaiyo itself.

"We'll send t' shuttle, an' ye can send yer friends over on it, but I'll accept no more guns or armor 'ere. If we're sendin' t' shuttle it'll be from a clean deck an' contain yer friends' armor bein' sent back t'ye. Y'cn send one o' t'ese fecks t' hold a gun t' th' pilot's head since t'at's t' only way ye feel safe." Galo shot a significant look to the soldiers with her already, "If ye cannae accept o'r hospitality widdoutchyer armor, t'en y'may's well start shootin' now. Ye got more tae lose t'en we do."

Navian shook her head in dismay. "That seems a bit excessive. A blindfold or hand binds would have the same effect, and be more reversible..." It wasn't diplomatic to say so, but Navian felt averse to smiling and nodding at this. "I'm fairly certain we'd get in the same trouble with our commander if we were intimidated by a heavily-armed and fighting fit 'largegear.'"

She stayed out of the conversation with the Kaiyo, which was above her head, but still quipped afterward, "I think we'd find it difficult to accept your hospitality while wearing our armour." She gestured toward her head with her free hand, as if trying to push something through her helmet, and then mimed wiping off her face plate, as she hovered along after Galo.

The Silent Palace

Carter endured the Spacer's tirade, arms crossed impassively. He wisely kept his mouth shut, knowing that there was nothing he could say that would help the situation. Besides, she was probably right about some of it. However, it was going to take more than a little petty goading to get him to do anything so foolish as to go into a place like this without his armor. He valued his life. And his health.

The Silent Palace

"Well, going shopping... why not yeah?" The Nito Hei grinned as she walked along with the group. She wasn't so scared of a bunch of bigoted nomad space hippies that she wouldn't go farther without her armor. But she didn't feel quite the same about her comrades doing anything remotely similar. She walked forward a few moments before she looked down and noted she was tracking that much from the garbage chute. "... Oh yeah, oops." She grimaced at it for a moment before stepping back closer to the chute, and took the chance to scrape the muck off the best she could using the ship. "Don't want to make the place anymore of a mess!"

Shortly after that minor fiasco, she moved up along side the others again, once more walking on the tips of her toes, clasping her hands behind her back as her tail swished around, occasionally, purposefully using it to brush her companions. "I wonder what sort of things they have around here!"

"I'm betting something like a vial of nebula gas." Meissa stomped off most of the...was that a...nevermind whatever that was...off of her feet before stepping into someone else's home. "Or maybe a preserved alien worm. Probably a bunch of things in the Silent Palace Gift Shop."

Mat looked around at his teammates spreading out. "Should I go with someone?" He asked hesitantly.

YSS Kaiyo
Bridge

Misaki was still quiet as she walked behind the starship operations console to read what it said, tapping her right hand on the back of the chair but careful not to touch the operator. She leaned down and got what she wanted before leaning up and walking towards Eden as she usually did when she wanted to say something, her violet eyes gleaming under the bridge lights.

"Something worries me about this place."

"Not again."

The rest of the crew heard this complaint as the garbage sludge washed over them, followed by a low, annoyed groan from Mitsuko. Once they were inside, she listened to the Freespacer's demands, waiting for any word back from their commanding officer. Eventually the situation progressed to the point where she had to speak up, before things became too uncontrolled. Her voice was broadcast over the armor's speakers, as well as communicated to the team and the Kaiyo.

"We will not be removing our armor, and will certainly not be allowing you to transport it or us." She gestured around at the group before they got too far apart. "Break into pairs. If the Taii's orders to inspect the station still stand, move together and watch each other's back. If we are joined by unarmored crew members, I want each of them assigned to an armored pair." She shook her head, trying to juggle all of the variables. "If our Captain reaches a point where she is confident enough in the security of this outpost to order the armored units removed, we will withdraw under our own power."

Mitsuko waited for the others to register their official pairings with her, or for the Taii to step in and provide her own amendments to the plan, or override it with new or more defined orders.

YSS Kaiyō
Bridge

Taii Teien Eden listened to Saki's concerns, then looked back at the visuals they were getting from the away team. She trusted her first officer. She trusted her gut instincts. She trusted Star Army protocol. She listened to Mitsuko, then, and her stomach turned to knots. She could hear in her instructions the nuances of a logistics personnel not seeing the logistical need for their presence aboard the outpost.

She alerted the away team of her decision, "Pull back, Kaiyō. There is nothing to see here, we've wasted enough time and the enemy draws nearer with each breath. I do not want to see my team of highly trained and capable soldiers being led around squalor for another instant. Our job here was not to impose or impede and we have begun to do both of those things."

To Galo she said, "We are removing all Star Army assets from Silent Palace. We have conducted our investigation into your outpost and your word is as good as gold. Thank you for your continued cooperation with the Star Army of Yamatai and have an enjoyable rest of your day."

Carter internally sighed in relief that the Taii had sided with Mitsuko. He was not looking forward to being ordered to unsuit and walk around in the station, but it probably wouldn't have ended up being his decision.

No matter, the squad had been ordered to withdraw, and with very good reason. Carter gladly complied, moving out of the station and reactivating his CFS systems

Yoshida stopped and pouted a little, she had been looking forward to meet a bunch of new, un-trusting faces. She then shrugged and threw her hands up in the air dramatically "Oh woe is I, deprived of meeting new people!" She grinned and practically skipped on her way back to the airlock "Well We can always say hi to that new NMX we picked up... Bye, free spacer lady! Thank you for being so nice!" She followed along with the others as they left the station.

Galo just waved them out, turning on her heel to see them go... Right back out the same gross chute they'd used to get in. She figured they must have really wanted to get out of there, if they didn't even want to ask for the real door.

"Oh dear. We were so lookin' farward t'ye company." Her good arm waggling back and forth, "Don't come back now, y'hear? We'll be bringin' t'is up in DION senate. Y'probably won' be demoted!"

Meissa walked backwards out of the repurposed garbage chute and hopped out, setting route for the Kaiyo.
"Don't break the same arm twice!" she called to Galo.

Anastasia, who had been rather nervous in the trek through the Silent Palace, gave a short bow of sorts before turning and making a line straight back out the way they came in. She was one of the first to leave.